Does changing your CSS provider affect your Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

With the numerous benefits touted for having a CSS partner, it's only natural to ask, "Are there any downsides?" In this article, we will discuss CTR and how/if it is impacted.

Maximizing the efficiency of your online ads is crucial to the success of your digital marketing efforts. One critical metric is Click-Through Rate (CTR), which indicates how many users click on your ad in relation to how many see it. Since CTR is a key indicator of ad effectiveness, it's natural for businesses to be concerned about how it may be impacted during a change.

What is a Comparison Shopping Service?

But first and foremost, let's briefly explain more about what CSS is. CSS stands for Comparison Shopping Service, which means "price comparison site" in Swedish. A CSS partnership involves a third-party provider acting as an intermediary between e-commerce businesses and the Google Shopping platform. By having a CSS partner, you receive a 20% discount on your advertising through Google Shopping. Learn more at [URL]. In-depth Guide: What is CSS?.

Direct Impact on CTR

A change in CSS provider does not have a direct impact on your CTR. This is because CTR is a metric that measures how effective your ad is at persuading customers to click on it, and it is not directly affected by the CSS provider you use. CTR depends on the following factors instead:

1. Ad creativity: How the ad is designed? Does it have compelling images and text that make the customer interested in clicking on it?
2. Relevant target audience: Is the ad targeted at the right audience? A well-defined target audience increases the likelihood that the customer is interested in your product and therefore clicks on the ad.
3. Ad placement: Where your ad is displayed? Currently, CSS providers only pertain to Google Shopping campaigns, which can only be controlled to a certain extent, such as appearing at the beginning or further back in the carousel among the Shopping ads. However, as a general rule, a prominent placement can increase the likelihood of a user clicking on it.

Indirect impact on CTR: Possible but extremely minimal

When it comes to changing your CSS provider, we at Acsser have observed that it typically results in an improvement in CTR.

Well sure, there might be a very small percentage of users who might notice something other than "By Google" under the ads. However, honestly, how many regular internet users have really thought about this? For most, it goes unnoticed and, therefore, doesn't affect their clicking behavior. In connection with this, the value of a CSS provider is much higher in relation to the small fraction that would notice something other than "By Google."

It's worth adding that clicks on "By [CSS provider]" are always free, but you shouldn't necessarily expect a significant portion of users to click on this.

Some closing words

What we have been able to establish is that your CTR is not significantly affected, if at all. CTR is primarily a result of ad creativity and audience relevance. The value of having a CSS provider provides so much value that it is worthwhile to switch from Google's own CSS.